Incheon: Shaikh Juma Bin Dalmouk Al Maktoum, skipper of the UAE Double Trap shooting team, has urged his teammates to back each other up as they commence their campaign at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games on Thursday (September 25).
Shaikh Juma will be joined by Khalid Al Kaabi and the experienced Saif Al Shamsi as the UAE target the men’s team and individual medals. The UAE trio of Hamad Bin Mijren Al Kindi, Walid Al Aryani and Abdullah Al Falasi missed out on the Trap team bronze by one shot on Sunday.
“The most important thing for us is to go out there and shoot well as a team. It is not just about one person going and shooting well. We all need to keep our focus and just perform 200 per cent for ourselves and for our country,” Shaikh Juma told Gulf News.
“Except for Khalid [Al Kaabi], our team is pretty experienced and we need to make use of this advantage and prove we are good enough to be Asian champions. We have always held on this principle, be it at the Gulf competitions or the Arab tournaments. Now we come to a bigger stage and we need to excel once again,” he added.
Juma first shot into international limelight when he won the silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. He made his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games and comes across as one of the clear favourites for top honours at the Double Trap shooting at the Gyeonggido Shooting Range.
ISSF, shooting’s governing body, adopted rule changes in an attempt to attract younger shooters while making the sport more spectator and media friendly. The new rules mean a new finals format for all Olympic events when qualifying round scores will not be carried into the final, making the scoring system immediately more understandable to the spectators. All finals now feature eliminations and end with duels between the two best shooters to decide the gold and silver medals.
“These changes make a difference to the sport. Some countries have understood and started benefitting from these rule changes but there are others who need to catch up with the changes. In the past you could carry forward your score into the final, and now with the rule change we start from scratch. One missed target and you can slip down the standings,” Shaikh Juma observed.
One factor that bothers the UAE champion is his lack of competition this year. “I have not shot much except for an international competition in the USA earlier this year. Technically, the Asian Games is only my second competition but I am feeling confident as I have trained well,” he said.
Shaikh Juma sounded a bit worried about the Gyeonggido Shooting Range. “This is a really old range and the equipment is quite outdated but then, the conditions will be the same for all shooters and I am hoping we will come good as a team,” he said.
“One doesn’t need pressure in this sport. One just goes out and shoots hoping that his teammates too do well,” he added.
